Steam coffee maker



May 5, 1953 c. GRADo STEAM coFFEE MAKER Filed May 7, 1949 Grado PaienieMay 5, 1953 STAT ES 1 TN T QFF ME SBPEAME COFFEEI'MAKER aiogerc Grado,San Diegc,,Califf.-.

application'Ii/fay 17, 1949, SerialLNo. 91,3%'

(Cl. Silk-'293i' :Z Clainis'. 1

My 'nvcntion rclates, to a -coiiee maker, and

more particularly to thatltype which comprisesv an apparatug constructedto generate a supply of steam, prefcrabiy superheated steam, and whichccn'veys or c nducts the steam to a cofi'ee urn, renioyably Hmorted bysaid apparatus.

'-r' object of my present invcntcn to proar'. oroved coffee maker of'the character 'e cribed by constructing an apparatus which comprises aremovahle coi'fee urn, supported on a spring biased support in such away as to' facilitate the connection of the urn to a source of steamsupply, and further to provide a novel arrangelnent by the constructionof an apparatus embodying a steam eenerating instrumentality providedwith a steam chest or compartment provided with an urn recess soarranged as to compactly encompass the coffee urn when disposed in therecess.

For a more detailed` understanding of my invention, reference may be hadto the accompanying drawing: iliustrating a preferred embodiment thereofin which lilre parts are rcferred to by'like reference charactersthroughout 'the several views, and in which Fig. i is a perspective viewof my improved cofiee maker.

Fig; 2 is a Vertical sectional view thereof Vtalren substantially on theline ZM of Fig. 1, and' Fig. 3 is a sectional view in a plane normal toFig. 2 and taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

The coffee maker as herein illustrated may obviously be made in varioussizes having a capacity of a few cups for domestic applications or manycups for commercial applications.

The preferred embodiment of my invention comprises a main structure C,preferably constructed of sheet metal and formed to provide a. combinedwater and steam compartment IO, which is recessed as shown at H toreceive a cofiee urn D. It will be noted that the water is collected inthe bottom of the compartment (see Figs. 2 and 3) which portion,described by the reference character IE, is employed to heat the water,such as a burner l3 of conventional constructiOn, and is of a type whichwill boil the 2 water and co-nvert' a substantial part of same' tosteam, which is confined in the closed compart ment C, the steam fillingthe'compartznent portion Eli disposed tothe'rear of the recess, theupper portion i which overhangs the urn recess ai'ld those portions to,which are disposed to thev side of the urn recess. Thusthe urn recess'is substantially encompassed by the steam compartment,which surroundsall sides thereof with the exceptionofthe open front.

A steam 0011-20 'is'supported''withinA the compartmentandif desired aplurality of such coilsv may be-employed. One end of the coilterminates'in-a loop 2| which-is immersed in the water and return bentin such a mannei`` as to provide an izilet '23 disposedipreferably'justabove the normal high water level (seeFig. 2). The coil preferablyextends vcrticall'y in the uprightcompartment ;oortions .and isvconnected in series with a coil `portion 523 disposed in the upperporton ;Hi of the compartment and terminates in an Outlet noa-ie 2d,which isprojected through the top wall of the urn recess'.

A one wayechecl: valve 23a is connected in series with the steam coii2d' and is employcd to prevent the escape of heat from the urn into thesystem. After the cofiee is made, the valve 23a is shut oiiy and thecoffee in the-urn will stay hot for many hours after the burner isturned off. Thus' a pressure builds upV in the compartment due to thegeneration of steam' therein, the steam is forced intothe coils and fedtothe Outlet, said steam being thus: somewhat superheated.

The coffee urn "D comprises a body'portion to constructcd.. if clesired,of insulated wall Sections, or of a suitable material resistant to thetransmission of heat. Acover assembly'l closes the upper open top of theurn and carries a compressible and yielding inlet fixture 32, whichfixture also supports a container 33 in which ground coffee is placed,said container being disposed immediately below the inlet fixture 32.This inlet fixture is provided with a central bore or hole into whichthe Outlet nozzle 24% is thrust, so that the steam discharged therefromis directcd into the container 33, said container being perforated as at3d, so that the condensed steam after extracting the oils of the coffeemay drip into the urn.

The coffee urn D is supported on the spring -biased support or platform40, suitable spring means, such as coils dl being utilized to yieldinglysupport the platform 40. Stops 42 serve to limit the upward travel ofthe platform w, this limit of travel being generally indicated at "A."and the platform may be depressed or lowered to the level indicatedgenerally at "B, so as to permit easy removal or assembly of the urn inthe recess The force of these compression springs 4| is such as to urgethe compressible and yielding inlet fixture 32 against the roof or topWall of the recess to eifectively seal the connection With the outletnozzle, said fixture being preferably constructed so that same willyieldingly grip the outlet nozzle.

Obviously, after the burner |3 is turned off, the generation of steam isstopped, and such steam as remains' in the compartment will condense andreturn to water. Further water may be added if desired until the levelof the Water rises above the inlet 22 and thus the water will overowinto the loop 2| and act to seal against the escape of any steam left insaid compartment. When the apparatus is placed in operation again, the'boiling of the water will soon lower the level of the water below theinlet and steam under pressure Will once again fiow through the coilsand thence into the urn.

A valved water outlet 50 may be coupled with the apparatus, and it isobviously desirable to provide suitable gauges and indicating devices toindicate the level of water in the compartment as Well as the steampressure. An automatic pressure relief valve '5| is desirable as Well asa manually actuated emergency valve 52. Steam may be exhausted through avalved outlet 53 and Water may be added through a valved inlet 513.Preferably the Coffee urn is provided With a liquid level indicator 55and an outlet faucet 555 of conventional construction.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which my inventionpertains that various changes and modificatons may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention or from the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A coifee maker comprising a rectangular casing providing a combinedWater and steam compartment and having an urn recess in the front wallthereof, a coffee urn removably supported in said recess, said water andsteam compartment enclosing the side, back, top and bottom walls of saidurn recess, and a steam coil disposed in said compartment above thenormal water level and having an inlet U-shaped connection immersed insaid Water and provided with an inlet adjacent to but above the Waterlevel, said steam coil having a portion thereof disposed in saidcompartment to the rear of said urn recess and another portion disposedin the compartment above the top wall of said urn recess and terminatingin an outlet elbow extending through the top wall of said urn recess,said coifee urn having a compressible and yielding inlet fixture adaptedto be detachably connected with the outlet connection of the steam coil,said side, back, top and bottom walls of said coffee urn disposed to lieclosely adjacent to the walls of said urn recess and subjected to heatradiating from the walls of said recess to maintain the cofi'ee in saidurn at a usable hot temperature.

2. A coffee maker comprising a steam compartment, means for generatingsteam and circulating same through said compartment, said compartmentprovided with an urn recess substantially surrounded on the back, side,top, and bottom walls by said compartment, a coffee urn fitted Withinsaid recess and having the sides, back, top and bottom walls thereofdisposed to lie closely adjacent to the walls of said urn recess andsubjected to heat radiating from said compartment, a yieldinglysupported platform fixture, said compartment having a steam outletnozzle projecting through the top Wall of the urn recess and adapted forquick attachment to the inlet fixture of said coffee urn, said yieldingmeans supporting said platform on which said cofiee urn is supportedacting to yieldingly maintain the connection between the steam nozzleand the inlet fixture, said inlet xture carried by said cofee urncomprising a compressible and yielding member-adapted to yieldingly gripsaid steam outlet nozzle on being pressed against the top wall of saidurn recess.

CALOGERO GRADO.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 67,932 Walker Aug. 20, 1867 124,454 Smith Mar. 12, 1872374:,603 Krag Dec. 13, 1887 561,515 Morian June 2, 1896 647,145 MeyerApr. 10, 1900 873,980 Barwse Dec. 17, 1907 1,4%,493 Sell June 3, 19241,756,787 Goughnour Apr. 29, 1930 1,953,291 DeVry Apr. 3, 1934 2,057,430Herrera Oct. 13, 1936 2,088,966 Lyons Aug. 3, 1937 2,114,063 Stoner Apr.12, 1938 2,206A-24 Oyen July 2, 1940 2,210,126 Risien et al Aug. 6, 194823841154 Sharp Oct. 11, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 116,048Great Britain May 30, 1918 267,502 Italy Sept. 9, 1929

